A video of an Amazon Echo Dot reciting a prayer has caught the attention of the public.
The device’s virtual assistant “Alexa,” similar to “Siri” for Apple, memorized a prayer from its owner and spoke it over the owner who had asked for her morning prayer. The two-minute prayer includes asking the Lord for forgiveness, strength, and blessing for others.
“Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude,” Alexa prays. “I ask that the Holy Spirit fill my heart with your love.”
The video, posted by the Word Network and credited to Marion Brown III, shocked many viewers. More than 2,000 people were so surprised at Alexa’s capabilities that they decided to share the video with friends.
First being used on Amazon Echo and Echo Dot devices, the virtual assistant Alexa is now accessible on over 20,000 devices. The system is capable of playing music, voice interaction, providing weather and traffic reports, and other information. Amazon recently reported over 100 million Alexa devices had been sold.
There are pros and cons of the Amazon Echo Dot device.
Pros include:
- The device is priced significantly cheaper than some other competitors. An Echo Dot is priced between $29.99-$49.99.
- The device is able to be used hands-free by just calling “Alexa” and stating a command.
- Alexa is able to help with many different tasks having more than 50,000 skills.
Cons include:
- Experts fear the system is collecting data through surveillance since it is continually listening for the next command.
- In order to properly fulfill requests, users must share their location and routines to name a few.
- Amazon receives access to user’s personal information, giving them the ability to target customers with advertisements.
- An unsecured device can be a target for hackers.